Charges filed in alleged road rage incident

Josh Cotton

Staff Reporter

jcotton@timesobserver.com

A Youngsville man faces aggravated assault charges for alleged role in an August 20 road rage incident.

Brian Bruce Kay, 35, was charged by Conewango Township police on August 29 with charges including four counts of aggravated assault and two counts each of terroristic threats and recklessly endangering another person.

According to police, a 72-year-old man contacted police and said he and his wife were in their vehicle, driving north on Preston Run Road at about 7:30 a.m.

They reported they were behind an older, red compact pick-up truck with a steel flat bed, that was going between 12 and 15 miles per hour, police said.

“Having a clear view ahead, victim attempted to pass the truck,” police said. The driver of the truck “swerved and blocked the roadway.”

The second time he tried to pass, the other driver swerved again, “almost striking victim’s vehicle,” police said. The man swerved away and his vehicle left the road and began to slide sideways.

“Victim was then able to pass the red truck and was tailgated,” police said.

The driver is described as a white male, possibly in his 20s, with a mustache and multiple tattoos on his left arm.

The other driver saw his arm because he allegedly held it out the window and pointed a dark-colored handgun, “possibly a revolver,” at the victim’s car and yelling for him to pull over, according to police.

The victim continued down Follett Run Road, and through the red light “fearing for his life and that of his wife,” turning north on Route 62, police said. “The red truck also went through the red light and followed the victim.”

After he lost sight of the red truck, the victim turned on Route 957, ending the incident.

The investigation picked up on Tuesday when Youngsville police provided a photo of a vehicle meeting the description which was parked at a Hillside Drive residence, according to the affidavit of probable cause. After confirming the registration, an anonymous phone call was received by the department on Wednesday indicating that the vehicle was parked in Ellicott, N.Y.

Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Deputies confirmed the location of the vehicle, believed to be Kay’s place of employment.

“It is believed that due to recent road construction between Kay’s residence and his possible work location that on (August 20) he had driven Preston, Follett and Rt. 62 in N. Warren to avoid that construction,” police allege.

Police indicate in the affidavit that the Warren County Jail provided an image of Kay and that additional images were observed on his Facebook page “and found photographs of Kay and his left arm consistent with the tattoos that (the) victim reported to have seen on (Kay).”

Police subsequently took the vehicle photo to the victim, who “positively identified” the truck.

Conewango Township Police Chief Jason Peters said on Thursday that there are “always two sides to every story. We’ll let it play out at central court.”

Peters said Kay was “taken into custody without interested” and added that “no firearm was found. That doesn’t mean that there was not one on the 20th.”

He was preliminarily arraigned before District Justice Laura Bauer Wednesday night and released on $50,000 unsecured bail.